Directed Evolution of AAV9 for Efficient Gene Expression in Cardiomyocytes and .

Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors are increasingly used for preclinical and clinical cardiac gene therapy approaches. However, gene transfer to cardiomyocytes poses a challenge due to differences between AAV serotypes in terms of expression efficiency and . For example, AAV9 vectors work well in rodent heart muscle cells but not in cultivated neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes (NRVCMs), necessitating the use of AAV6 vectors for studies.

SRF: a seriously responsible factor in cardiac development and disease.

The molecular mechanisms that regulate embryogenesis and cardiac development are calibrated by multiple signal transduction pathways within or between different cell lineages via autocrine or paracrine mechanisms of action. The heart is the first functional organ to form during development, which highlights the importance of this organ in later stages of growth. Knowledge of the regulatory mechanisms underlying cardiac development and adult cardiac homeostasis paves the way for discovering therapeutic possibilities for cardiac disease treatment.

SUMO proteins in the cardiovascular system: friend or foe?

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are crucial for the adaptation of various signalling pathways to ensure cellular homeostasis and proper adaptation to stress. PTM is a covalent addition of a small chemical functional group such as a phosphate group (phosphorylation), methyl group (methylation), or acetyl group (acetylation); lipids like hydrophobic isoprene polymers (isoprenylation); sugars such as a glycosyl group (glycosylation); or even small peptides such as ubiquitin (ubiquitination), SUMO (SUMOylation), NEDD8 (neddylation), etc. SUMO modification changes the function and/or fate of the protein especially under stress conditions, and the consequences of this conjugation can be appreciated from development to diverse disease processes.